MINNESOTA 83, UCLA 63: Bruins see season fall into Gopher hole, lose in NCAA second-round game

In the final game of its season, UCLA led for all of eight seconds - a brief moment of hope roughly 11 minutes into the Bruins' NCAA Tournament second-round game against Minnesota.

Forward David Wear had just made a layup to give the sixth-seeded Bruins a one-point lead. The No. 11-seeded Gophers quickly unleashed a 19-4 run, opening a comfortable cushion en route to an 83-63 win.

Five minutes into the second half, sophomore Norman Powell's 3-pointer cut the lead to five. Minnesota point guard Andre Hollins quickly responded with back-to-back 3 s of his own, snuffing out the spark.

"It was definitely a gut punch," forward Travis Wear said.

Hollins finished with a game-high 28 points, all but five of which came in the second half. He made five 3-pointers, one more than UCLA did as a team.

"One play, he got open in the corner and hit a three," Bruins point guard Larry Drew II said. "It really seemed like he didn't miss after that."

Coach Ben Howland's constant screams for the team to "Push! Push!," his pleas to the referees that "It was a flop!" rang hollow.

His job, the subject of much speculation all season, is likely not safe.

When asked if he might have coached his last game for the Bruins, he answered: "No comment."

Minnesota advances to play No. 3-seeded Florida on Sunday. The Bruins likely wouldn't have stood a chance in that game, either: The Gators were responsible for three of UCLA's previous five tournament exits.

The Gophers (21-12) abused Howland's squad enough at the Frank Erwin Center. The Bruins (25-10) trailed by as much as 23 and gave up a 15-6 edge in fast-break points.

They shot just 31.7 percent in their season finale, their worst performance of the year.

Star freshman Shabazz Muhammad - whose age was revealed by the Los Angeles Times to be 20, not 19 as previously listed in the official media guide - finished with a team-high 20 points in a performance that should cap his college career.

He is widely expected to declare for the NBA draft, though he demurred on a decision after the loss.

All week long, the team had insisted they would be fine without Jordan Adams, who had broken his right foot last week. Sure, the freshman was their second-leading scorer, a player who averaged 15.3 points per game and opened up the offense in ways that no one else on the roster could.

Still, UCLA talked big. They were used to being talked down, and were eager to prove - like some of their conference brethren had - that the prognosticators were all wrong.

But just 20 minutes into its matchup against the Gophers, UCLA barely looked like a team that belonged in the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins shot 8 of 30 from the field before halftime as they trailed 35-25,

No starter hit a field goal until Drew sank a jumper at 9:42 in the first half. Collectively, the five made just three of their first 25 shots.

Muhammad went into the locker room with only five points, all earned at the free-throw line.

The offense had little rhythm in its second game without Adams. The Bruins committed 15 turnovers against 10 assists, and struggled against Minnesota's shifting zone schemes.

"We knew they were going to show zone, but we didn't know they would be playing it the whole game," Travis Wear said. "Our execution in zone offense wasn't great tonight at all."

UCLA actually held a 42-36 rebounding edge against the Gophers, who entered the game ranked eighth in the country in that category.

However, big men Travis Wear, David Wear and Tony Parker combined for eight fouls in the first half - forcing them to play with caution for the rest of the game.

"I thought some (calls) were outrageous," said Parker, who fouled out after playing seven minutes. "Let us bang. We're all big men."